BIRD NOTES

Joe Holmes and I made a birding venture on April 2 where we saw 28 species.

I led a field trip on March 28, which started in Port Clyde at 08:30 and then went to the Blanche Peninsula and ended at Bacarro.

On March 19 Barbara McLean and I took a trip out birding where we covered the Kissing Bridge Road, First Peninsula, The Sawpit Park and Second Peninsula.

It is that time of year again where bird watching can be very slow with winter migrants moving out and the return of regular birds that nest here. Birds that we should expect to be arriving now are American woodcocks, killdeer, American robins, common grackles and red-winged blackbirds. Of course, some other species will also start to show like double-crested cormorants and great blue herons.

This was the 126th year for Christmas Bird Counts in Canada.

There are three winter birding projects that take place each year. They are the Christmas Bird Counts, Project Feederwatch and The Great Backyard Bird Count. Birdwatch Canada Winter 2026 Number 112 wrote an article on these projects and the results from the 2024/25 Season.

On Feb. 19 I went with the Environmental Class for the community college out birding. We found 27 species for the day.

Robert Keereweer located a thick-billed murre near the Blandford Fish Plant on Feb. 15. I was going to make a trip to try and see this bird, but decided to wait a few days before going. In the meantime, on Feb. 16, I was out birding in Feltzen South, and just off the beach I found a thick-billed murre.

Eric Mills located a red-necked grebe on the Lunenburg waterfront Feb. 7. I was out birding with Barbara McLean on Feb. 9 and we had excellent views of this bird. The best in fact that I have ever had. The grebe was literally about one metre from me. I was as the top of a wharf looking down at it.

I saw 34 species of birds on Jan. 30 which signifies a great day of birdwatching for me.

The database, eBird, was launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at the Cornell University and the National Audubon Society. It gathers basic data on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

On Jan. 17, Ethan Sarty and I set off for New Glasgow on a quest for the tufted titmouse.